Russo’s Review: Give Us Back C-Shop Ranch

The replacement ranch in C-Shop just doesn’t do it for SAC’s favorite food critic. (Photo courtesy of Meg Russo ’19)

Hey, y’all! I’m back, but I’m a little unwell because one of my favorite go-to condiments at the Coffee Shop disappeared right in front of our eyes with no explanation why. Here’s what happened: I get back to campus on August 12th to start preparing for one of St A’s greatest programs, Road for Hope. As I walk around campus, I realize the Coffee Shop is under construction and not open. This made me feel uneasy because there was no email about the C-Shop being renovated, or when it was going to re-open during my early arrival on campus. Something was definitely up!

After Road for Hope, I went to the newly-renovated C-Shop and realized the ranch dressing and other famous C-Shop condiments such as the honey mustard and the zinfandel salad dressing have totally vanished from the C-Shop premises.

Betrayal, disappointment, and confusion all hit me at once as I was eating my side order of fries but had nothing to dip them in except for ketchup. There is nothing more satisfying than having C-Shop fries being dipped in the homemade C-Shop ranch.

C-Shop ranch is more than a condiment to some people. This homemade ranch is why people come to St. A’s, and it is also one of the things that bring alumni back to St. A’s. I can honestly say people look forward to having C-Shop ranch during their meals, and now that it is gone, people’s meals are not the same.

Anna Juliano ’19, a C-Shop ranch lover, is rattled and very upset because now her staple C-Shop meals are forever changed unless they bring back the homemade ranch.

If you’re a freshman reading this you might be thinking, Why is this girl going off about a condiment? Let me tell you something: Don’t knock it till you try it. The ranch in the C-Shop currently in the blue container is honestly disgusting. I tried it once thinking, Oh, maybe this will taste okay. Nope! I was so wrong. It tastes awful and does not mesh well with any of the meals I have had at school. So, then I tried it again, because I thought it might deserve a second chance, but no it was still not satisfying my expectations.

I think the thing that bothers my peers and me the most is how C-Shop ranch was taken from us and they still haven’t told the student body why it was taken or if it is coming back.

Don’t get me wrong; I still eat C-Shop especially in the pub because everyone who works there is very kind and helpful but it’s just not the same without the white condiment container that used to reside across the counter.

However, the other day I was at C-Shop when one of my friends, Laura Kane ‘19, ordered a specialty salad and the workers offered her the choice of their homemade ranch. Laura obviously said yes to this choice and then the workers also told her that C-Shop ranch is now back “on the line.” For those of you who don’t know what “on the line” is, it means that if you order a chicken ranch wrap, your wrap will contain the homemade OG ranch as the condiment because it is prepared on the wrap line.

My recommendation to anyone who wants the condiment back where it belongs would be to continue to write napkin notes saying how you want C-Shop ranch or another one of your favorite condiments to come back into your life.

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